Agenda item

6.1     Councillor Nickie Aiken spoke to outline the circumstances which had led to the submission of the proposals in the report.  She explained that discussion had been had over a prolonged period with stakeholders with a view to them sharing the £1m pa revenue cost.  The Council had always recognised that it would need to invest capital.  The CCTV statistics had shown that only 2% of crime was investigated using CCTV and that it was not effective in preventing crime.  Councillor Aiken continued by saying that discussions would continue with the Mayor, MOPAC and others with a view of having a pan London approach.

6.2     Stuart Love, Executive Director, City Management and Communities, advised that at present the revenue costs were being funded from underspend.  If a pan London solution was not found decommissioning would commence from September and be carried out over a six month period.

6.3     The Leader commented that she was pleased that discussions would continue on the possible pan London approach.

6.4     Resolved:

(i)              That approval is given not to renew or re-procure the CCTV staffing contract currently operated by G4S following its expiration on 1 September 2016.

(ii)             That approval is given for the decommissioning of the existing fixed CCTV camera system and estate from September 2016. That is unless a responsible partnervolunteers before 1 August 2016 to accept transfer of the assets and their continued operation.

(iii)            That, should a responsible partner wish to assume responsibility for the assets, approval is given to transfer the assets from 1 September 2016.

          Reasons for Decision

The current crime and disorder fixed CCTV system is reaching the end of its operational life and contracts for control room staffing and maintenance of the system are due to expire over the next year.

The expected annual revenue cost for the continued provision of CCTV cannot be met within existing budget projections. It is therefore not possible to procure contracts and make financial commitments which we cannot meet.

The Council can no longer afford to directly subsidise partners which benefit from the existence of a CCTV service, most notably the Metropolitan Police.

The effectiveness of CCTV in preventing particular types of crime in public spaces is questionable as suggested by the Campbell Collaboration’s 2008 report Effects of Closed Circuit Television on Crime.

The crime and disorder CCTV System is used to support management of the public realm with activity that ultimately assists in the detection and apprehension of offenders and undertaking civil or criminal prosecutions. As a result the crime and disorder CCTV system is primarily used to provide reactive support for the police in securing arrests and prosecutions relating to crimes committed in sight of cameras.

Extensive engagement with partners over recent years on the future viability of the CCTV system has not led to any meaningful financial support, leaving the Council with the full financial burden which it can no longer continue to bear.

Despite the declining health of the CCTV system, the Council would be prepared to transfer the cameras and feeds over to partners such as the Metropolitan Police and work in partnership to ensure the continued viability of the system where appropriate. Any partner would also have to provide accommodation for a control room as the Council’s existing lease at the Trocadero is due to expire in 2017. Such an agreement would have to be under development by 1 August 2016 to enable the effective planning of decommissioning or transfer.

The Council’s Crime and Disorder CCTV system plays a relatively marginal role in providing CCTV coverage of the city. There are a number of other systems currently operating in the city which provide extensive coverage and could be used in the event of a major incident or to capture criminal activity, subject to their location in relation to the incident.